Welcome

Welcome to the POZ/AIDSmeds Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ/AIDSmeds community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the
symbol in each box.

Welcome to Am I Infected

IMPORTANT UPDATE
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

New members -- those who have posted three or fewer messages -- are permitted to post questions and responses, free of charge (make them count!). Ongoing participation in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- posting more than three questions or responses -- requires a paid subscription.

A seven-day subscription
is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with
secure payments made via PayPal.

There will be no charge to continue reading threads in the
"Am I Infected?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating
in any of the Main Forums; Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits; and Off Topic
Forums. Similarly, all POZ and AIDSmeds pages,
including our "How is HIV
Transmitted?" and "Am I Infected? (A
Guide to Testing for HIV)" lessons, will remain accessible to
all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Am I
Infected?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account
to participate beyond three posts in the "Am I Infected?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding
and future support of the best online support service for people living with,
affected by and at risk for HIV.

I had sex with a streetwalker and I used a condom. When she was riding me, I noticed a lot of thick vaginal fluid at the base of my penis in the pubic area. Her vaginal lips and fluids were being rubbed aggressively into my skin at my pubic region.

I got a false positive with a Orasure oral test (not the RAPID), confirmed negative with a Western blot at 9 weeks since the incident. I am still scared sh*tless. I live in orange county, California where public health care services are horrible.

I know there are other posts about this topic. I was just hoping if people could answer my questions honestly and to the best of their knowledge without trying to make me feel better.

1) Is there a theoretical risk in my situation? In other words, can the HIV virus penetrate the skin when her vaginal fluids are literally "rubbed in" to my skin near the pubic area due to the 'roughness' of the sex?

2) What percentage of people seroconvert at 9 weeks? I hear that "most" people do. Can anyone quantify that?

3) Do I really need to get tested again? I don't have time to take off of work and use the crappy OC health services again. (they charge for rapid testing) I get tested for other STDs often. Should I just move on with regards to my HIV status?

Please, this has been bugging me so much that I can't perform my essential functions at work! Can anyone who is an Aidsmeds veteran answer my questions to the best of their knowledge?

To begin with, you did NOT have a risk of infection. Hiv CANNOT infect you through intact skin. Hiv needs to come into contact with specific cells in order to infect and those specific cells are NOT found in the skin - and that includes the skin on your pubic area and the shaft of your penis.

The bit you need to protect is the head of your penis and you did this by wearing a condom. This is why you had no risk. Condoms have been proven to be very effective when it comes to hiv transmission prevention.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Thanks everybody, I feel a better now. I know I am NEG but just out of curiosity I have another question, this time regarding the Oraquick Oral Test (not the rapid one).

When I was tested at 9 weeks, I was halfway thru a pretty bad cold and coughing a alot (this is the reason why I got tested in the first place). I got a false positive confirmed negative by Western blot.

I always thought that confirmatory tests such as Western blot required another sample. But they used the same oral sample to conduct the Western blot. Is there a possibility that this sample wasn't good enough (i.e. didn't contain enough antibodies) ?

I'm going to keep it to one question per post since when I tend to ask multiple, I end up not getting them answered. Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I feel a lot better.

Just a point of clarification, I read the rules for this forum and I'm not worrying about my NO RISK scenario, I'm just seeking an answer to the post above regarding the western blot. Please don't kick me off the forum? Thanks

Why are you worrying about this testing stuff? You don't need to test over an incident of intercourse where you wore a condom. Condoms have been proven to be very effective when it comes to hiv prevention.

False positives happen because of the sensitivity of the tests. Any positive ELISA result must be backed up with a Western Blot.

Both types of tests are equally as good and they are both approved for hiv testing when used in the appropriate 12-13 week window period.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

You guys are awesone people and this is one of the best websites I have ever visited. I apologize for my obsessive/compulsive tendencies. I find that spending too much time on this forum looking for answers drives me nuts! (esp. at work in my cubicle). Actually, sometimes I really get a kick out of some of the “fear” stories people have (i.e. the ones where they think they get stabbed by a needle intentionally)

Well, the reason why I am back is because I tested for HIV 5 days ago (at the 12 week cutoff period and also for other STIs) and having realized that I do not need to test for HIV, this two week wait is driving me nuts. This time I gave them a full blood sample to be analyzed by Quest Diagnostics. The Orasure website even says that blood samples are more reliable than swab samples. I made sure they took at least a quarter soda can worth of blood. (they didn’t actually put my sample in a can).

I’m sorry. I know you guys hate people who obsess over insignificant situations like myself. When I took the orasure oral test, my initial ELISA false positive made me feel like I was cheated.

Has anyone ever felt this way about the oral test? I feel like I should’ve gotten a “neg” to begin with. I have always used a condom for every act of vaginal intercourse.

Ann, please don’t kick me off this forum because I find it valuable when I need people to talk to.

There is only so much this forum can do for you. We are not here to provide you with a social life and someone to talk to when you are at work. I'm sure your boss would not appreciate you spending company time and money surfing the internet to satisfy your "obsessive/compulsive tendencies".

You didn't have a risk. You will receive a negative result. False positives happen sometimes and they are testament to how good the tests actually are (because they're so sensitive). There are checks and balances in place to identify false positives.

I suggest you keep yourself busy - try doing the work you're paid to - until you receive your results. Then it will definitely be time to move on.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

You can have sex as often as you want as long as you have applied the condom on correctly and you use plenty of water base lube. Being a scientist yourself, I wonder why you would ask? Scientist are the ones that use the term "theoretical" when they can't answer a question scientifically or they just don't have the answers and they are guessing.

i just don't believe serodiscordant studies because in some cases, they only have intercourse about once every few months or so.

scared,

According to who? The couples who took part in those studies were subjected to intense scrutiny of their sex lives. These people entered the studies because they wanted to know the truth as much as anyone. Why would they lie? Why would the scientist who designed and executed the study not be aware of their subject's activities and report their finding accordingly? We would know if the results of these tests were skewed in the way you suggest. They weren't. The longest one lasted ten years. Surely that's saying something?

If you had protected intercourse with 2000 positive people you would not have a risk, provided you used the condoms correctly as well as consistently. Correctly used condoms rarely break. As long as your condom does not break, you're good to go.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

The study lasted ten years and in the couples who used condoms consistently and correctly for intercourse, but not other activities, none of the negative partners became positive. Another study lasted three years and ... I think the third was another three or a seven year study. It's in the Transmission lesson.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Ann, thanks very much for your educated response. I've been very patient and now since I know a lot more about hiv than I ever used to I have a question:

I know that hiv is successfully transmitted thru the male urethra since it is a mucous membrane. Now the pubic area (particularly the testicles) is covered with hair follicles (some slightly enlarged). It seems that these areas where pubic hairs come out from could be considered mucous membranes and could possibly aid in absorption the same way the male urethra does. I know that skin is an excellent barrier to hiv transmission, but the 'pubic area' has lots of these areas where hair grows from.

Now my question:Wouldn't it pose a risk if this area was covered in vaginal fluid and rubbed ferociously into these regions as she was on top of me?

I really appreciate your answers and just to be on the safe side, I am waiting for my 12 week result this friday.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

i've came accoss what it seems like 'miracle stories' on this website and others that made me decide to come back with a new topic:

i've read stories where hiv- men engage in unprotected intercourse with hiv+ women for periods of years and the men don't get infected. the longest i heard of was around 5 years and still no infection!

does anyone know any other stories like this? does low viral load play a key role in these 'lucky' stories?